Dream Wedding(9)

Chloe tossed him another piece of radish. This one he caught and popped in his mouth.

“No one here is impressed,” she informed him, her eyes bright with laughter.

The teasing continued throughout the preparation of the meal. Arizona enjoyed watching the three women work together. They moved with an easy grace that told him they did this often. Their banter reminded him that on occasion his chosen life could be very solitary. Sure he loved what he did, but his lifestyle didn’t allow for a home of his own, or many intimate connections. He had lots of acquaintances, but few friends.

He tried to distance himself from the situation, to observe instead of participate, but the trick didn’t work this time. He kept finding himself pulled into the conversation. The sense of family was strong and he was the odd person out. As the three women joined him and began dishing up food, he realized he was the only man at the table. He liked that in a group.

When everything was ready, Cassie plopped herself next to him and smiled. “I have a ton more questions.”

Chloe took the seat opposite his, while Charity was next to her. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know if I can answer anything without first getting an agreement that everything we discuss here is off the record.”

There was a stunned moment of surprise followed by a burst of laughter. Both women looked at Chloe, who raised her hands in the air. “Fine. I won’t take notes, record the conversation or make any attempt to retain it in my brain. I’m sure that important secrets will be shared here tonight, but the public will just have to stay uninformed.”

“So how long are you in town?” Cassie asked.

“Three weeks.”

“Where were you before you got here?”

“South America. I was making arrangements to ship the gems. Before that I was in India.”

Chloe passed him the bowl of mashed potatoes. As he took it from her, she shrugged. “You’ll have to forgive her. Cassie works with preschool children. She doesn’t get out much.”

Cassie gave her sister a mock glare. “Oh, and you’ve traveled the world yourself. I know you have a lot of questions, too. You’re just pretending to be sophisticated.”

Arizona leaned toward Chloe. “It’s working,” he said in a low voice.

Her dark eyes flickered with an emotion he couldn’t quite register, then she smiled and looked away.

“What do you usually look for?” Cassie asked as he finished serving himself and passed on the mashed potatoes. “Bones and stuff?”

“I’m not that disciplined,” he admitted. “I know it’s important to study the details of life in lost civilizations, but I don’t have the interest. I want to learn about the unusual. The mystical and unbelievable.”

Cassie frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Magic. Objects that cast spells or connect the wearer to whatever gods that society worshiped.”

Chloe put some salad on her plate and gave him an innocent smile. “Remember the last Indiana Jones movie, Cassie? It’s the one where they were looking for the Holy Grail—the cup Christ is said to have used at the Last Supper. Arizona looks for stuff like that.”

Arizona wasn’t fooled. Chloe might have just been assigned the story, but she would have spent the day doing research. She had to know that he loathed being compared to that fictional movie character Indiana Jones. There was no way he could compete with that kind of hero and come out anything but second best. Tweaking the tiger’s tail, he thought. She obviously wasn’t a pushover. He liked that in a woman.

Cassie stared at him wide-eyed. “Really? So you’re interested in legends?”

“All kinds. Old stories, myths about the past.”

“Family legends?”

There was something about the way she asked the question. Chloe focused on her sister. “Mr. Smith doesn’t want to hear about that,” she said, her expression tight. “It wouldn’t be interesting.”

A mystery, he thought as he glanced from sister to sister.

“Just because it didn’t work for you doesn’t mean it’s not real,” Cassie said. “We have a family legend. The Bradleys do anyway. That’s the family on our mother’s side.”

“Cassie, I don’t think—” Chloe began, but her sister waved her off.

“Ignore her,” Cassie said. “She’s a cynic when it comes to stuff like this.”

“I’m intrigued,” Arizona admitted. As much with the idea of a family legend as with the mystery as to why Chloe didn’t want him to hear it.

“The story is that several hundred years ago an old gypsy woman was being chased by some drunken men. They were throwing stones and yelling at her and she feared for her life.” Cassie waved her hands as she talked, providing animation for the tale.